


Song of the Sirens: Prelude to Crimson

by Silver_Siren



Series: Song of the Sirens [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-24 06:55:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20701784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Siren/pseuds/Silver_Siren
Summary: Perched and hidden on a steel rooftop, she spotted him. The black custom armor gave away that he was at the very least a Tribunus-far too specific to be that of a Centurion. Sure, he looked immense, surely at least eight fulms tall, but they weren't interested in fighting him. No, they wanted his coinpurse.Tribuni and Legati were always very wealthy. They also tended to be very cocky, thinking themselves untouchable. It had always been the same. Get close, take it, and get out before he even realized what happened. Surely, this one would be no different.Or so she thought.





	Song of the Sirens: Prelude to Crimson

_ Night was high in the streets of Garlemald. While many slept, many were also wide awake and on the prowl. Cutthroats, street rats, thieves, scoundrels, lowlifes, savages… the names were as varied as the stars, but they all meant the same thing at the end of the day. And though they did not desire it, that is what they were.  _

_ Perched and hidden on a steel rooftop, she spotted him. The black custom armor gave away that he was at the very least a Tribunus-far too specific to be that of a Centurion. Sure, he looked immense, surely at least eight fulms tall, but they weren't interested in fighting him. No, they wanted his coinpurse. _

_ Tribuni and Legati were always very wealthy. They also tended to be very cocky, thinking themselves untouchable. It had always been the same. Get close, take it, and get out before he even realized what happened. Surely, this one would be no different.  _

_ Or so she thought.  _

_ She had spotted his coinpurse, and by whatever powers may or may not be, was it fat. A demonic smirk came across her face, and she pulled a whip from her side, letting it unfold in silence. She then cracked it, and the tip wrapped around a lightpole. She swung off the roof, positioning herself to snatch the coinpurse- _

_ “And just what do you think you're doing, hm?”  _

_ Suddenly, she found her left wrist in his iron grip. Hissing, she brought her right foot, kicking him in the side of his helmet. Though it seemed to not really hurt him, it was enough to make him let go, which is all she needed. She leapt back, pulling her whip off the pole, and taking a proper battle stance. He drew his weapon… a Doman katana? That wasn't the typical choice of weapon for anyone of status… something so exotic…  _

_ Something worth a  _ ** _load _ ** _ of gil.  _

_ “Hm, and what has you so pleased? Mayhaps the fact this is indeed an authentic Doman katana? Do you seek to pry it from my mangled corpse?”  _

_ “If that's what it takes to get my hands on it, then so be it!”  _

_ Immediately, he charged her, but she dodged and cracked her whip, striking the helmet with enough force to crack it ever-so-slightly, exposing part of his face. She then brought it around, and before he could blink, he was struck with three medium-sized spiked balls. He grinned when he felt one of them break his nose and with each scratch carved into his pale hide. She pulled it back and swung it around yet again, aiming to hit from the other side, but he deflected with a well-timed slash from his katana. That didn't seem to faze her, and she simply recalled it and wrapped it around his sword arm, yanking with all she could muster… and yet, he barely moved.  _

_ “The hells?!” _

_ He shrugged, and used her own tactic against her to throw her against a wall. She cried out in pain, but the Legatus soon found himself having to move backwards rapidly, dodging a hail of bullets. He looked up and around, before seemingly staring off to his right into the darkened sky… and with a swing of his sword, he sent a powerful burst of wind flying, destroying part of a building. He smirked as another young girl, seemingly a year or two younger than the whip-wielder, began to fall, right into sight. She flicked her wrist ever-so-slightly, aimed towards a high point on the opposing building, and a grappling hook was loosed. It locked into the concrete, and she swung to the ground, landing on her own two feet. _

_ “Hmmm… how ingenious…. I should like to see more of that ingenuity.” The man purred.  _

_ “Oh, you'll see it alright-you'll see it in the form of your body being shot into an unrecognizable shell!” She roared whilst tossing her gun in the air, confusing him for moment. She then proceeded to reach behind the small shield on her arm that he just now noticed, and pulled another from behind it. She tossed it up as well, before catching the first one in her right hand, and then catching the other in her left. He smirked as she took aim, and fired with calculation, aiming for exposed spots. Though he managed to deflect most of them with movements of his plated hand, she did manage a few in his side. He was delighted-the potential he saw in these two was boundless- _

_ He felt the smack of that special whip across the back of his helmet, and then, the whip-wielder snatched his helmet by the ornamental horns on either side. He shifted his body violently, but she did manage to pull his helmet off.  _

** _“Most _ ** _ impressive… managing to actually rip off my helmet… but you dealt no real damage in the process. Why bother-” _

_ Suddenly, he felt a force hit him, and, for a brief moment, he felt nauseous-aether sickness, he realized. And then, just as he was beginning to recover, another wave hit him. He looked around for the source, before he found it, hidden in the darkness. Another girl, with the strangest gauntlets on her forearms. He slashed his katana towards a ledge above her- _

_ “PEISINOE! ABOVE YOU!” The whip-wielder shouted. The gauntlet-clad girl, whose name must be Peisinoe, he concluded, darted forward a few feet, into the light. She then swung her gauntlets around her body, following with a swipe of her feet. Anticipating that this was another attempt to cripple him with aether sickness, he slashed his katana downwards, and the resulting explosion filled the area.  _

_ When the dust settled, Peisinoe and the gunslinger were soundly defeated. He sighed, and raised his katana, preparing to kill them- _

_ “NO!” _

_ The whip-wielder darted past him and put herself right in harm's way. She glared towards him. _

_ “I won't let you take them from me! They're all I have left!” _

_ In that moment, he got a good look at all three of them, finally. All three had pale skin, were beyond dirty, clad in rags, as well as the trademark Garlean third eye. It seemed they focused on keeping their weapons maintained, as they were barely nourished. Upon stepping closer, he noticed Peisinoe’s gauntlets had cables going  _ ** _into her arms. _ ** _ He noticed that her legs were in a similar setup to her arms-with knee-high armored boots and the cables going into the backs of her thighs.  _

_ “Hmmm… you all intrigue me.” _

_ “We  _ ** _intrigue _ ** _ you?! The hells is that supposed to mean?!” The whip-wielder demanded, voice drowning in unbridled fury. _

_ “It means that, to me, you are all like unrefined ore. You appear dirty, useless, and unpolished to the untrained eye, but with intense work, the valuables that lie within will be exposed. And those valuables, whatever they may be, are far too precious to leave unclaimed.” _

_ He walked closer, taking the whip-wielder’s face in his cold, armored hand. He tilted her chin up, until they locked eyes. Emerald green met steel blue, boundless defiance met foreign delight. He couldn't help the smirk that came across his face. _

_ “Surely you tire of living this life of misery and despair… So, I will make a proposal.” _

_ “Not like I have any other choice right now other than to listen…” She muttered. _

_ “You three will come with me. I will take you to the palace, where I will personally ensure you are all treated and brought to full, proper health. Then, I will see to it that you are employed under my command. All I ask in exchange is that you give every last fight your  _ ** _all. _ ** _ I want to see you all soar, to show me your boundless might.” _

_ A moment of silence. _

_ “I'd honestly love nothing more than that, but how do I know you'll be able to keep it? What if His Radiance or Lord Zenos decide to toss us back to the wolves?” _

_ The man  _ ** _laughed._ **

_ “Because I  _ ** _am _ ** _ Zenos.”  _

_ Her eyes widened. _

** _“The _ ** _ Zenos? Zenos yae Galvus?! As in the same man who has crushed countless armies under his heel?! Viceroy of Doma?! The hells is the bloody Crown Prince of Garlemald doing in this backwater shitehole?!” She demanded. He chuckled. _

_ “I had nothing better to do… and, in truth, it was the stories told of you three. Skilled thieves who always escaped punishment for their crimes, and yet, apparently wielding magitek devices unlike anything seen before. I could only  _ ** _begin _ ** _ to fathom the  _ ** _glorious _ ** _ violence within you… and I clearly was not mistaken.” _

_ “And you managed to sneak out here alone  _ ** _how? Surely _ ** _ the royal guard would have insisted on following you…” _

_ He  _ ** _laughed _ ** _ yet again.  _

_ “They know better than to deny me when I want something. I told them I had to do this alone-to lure you and your lot out. To tease you with the promise of easy wealth, whilst keeping my identity a secret until the time was right. And it all went  _ ** _exactly _ ** _ as I predicted. But enough of this mindless chatter… what say you? Will you accept my offer?”  _

_ She seemed to think for a bit. _

_ “It would be a chance to finally get off the streets… fine, we'll bite.” _

_ Zenos smiled deviously.  _

_ “Smart girl. Now, let's take our leave of this wretched place. I'll carry your sisters.”  _

_ He let her go, and she got up. True to his word, he first took the gunslinger and, using the sashes around his waist, tied her to his back. Then, he took Peisinoe, and cradled her in his arms.  _

_ “Ah, I never did ask your names… I assume the one in my arms is Peisinoe, but what about the other one on my back, and you? Moreover, what is your last name?” He questioned. _

_ “The one on your back is Aglaope, and my name is Thelxiope. We're the Sirenius sisters.” She answered.  _

_ “A pleasure to meet you, Thelxiope. Now, let us away.” _

_ “Following you.” _

_ And with that, Thelxiope followed the prince, hoping that she hadn't made a grave mistake.  _

_ As if anything he would have in store could have been much worse than their previous situation... _


End file.
